11.5 Auctions menu
WebSphere Commerce provides an auctioning component that lets you sell products to the highest bidder. This component provides an ideal environment for implementing small to moderate-scale auctioning as part of the e-commerce solution, and for conducting auctions simultaneously. In addition, auctions offer special advantages in these situations:
When you are uncertain about the size of the market and the willingness of buyers to purchase a product; for example, when selling used or reconditioned products
When a product's price has been set too high initially, and to determine a price based on market demand
When to promote new product lines or liquidate inventory
WebSphere Commerce supports three types of auctions:
Open Cry auctions: All bids are available for public viewing; each participant knows the other bids submitted.
Sealed Bid auctions: Enable participants to submit a bid that is seen only by the auction administrator. You set a submission deadline, and no bid received after that time is accepted. The bidder does not know the other bids submitted.
Dutch auctions: Bidders are not required to set the initial bid price. Instead, the user creating the auction announces a price and asks whether any participants will accept it. Usually the auction starts with a high bid price that is reduced over time until bidders have cleared the inventory.
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